Since I’ve been gone, the garden is underway – mostly tomatoes. We’re doing containers on the deck, which is the only part of the yard that gets sun. Not sure how well it will go.

Summer is here, judging by the amount of mosquito bites I have.

Things that have been keeping me busy:
The Survival Podcast. – practical information for living a better life when things get tough, or even if they don’t.

FightMichigan.com – of course.

And, of course, various changes that just creep up on you and happen.

I really need to remember to take more photos and to update this blog more often. I really feel like I’m out of practice, though, and FightMichigan is taking up all my free time and website ambition.

You can loan as little as $25, which is what I decided to do. I feel like I’m making a difference, and it’s fun to get the updates and see the progress of the loan repayment.

Since I’m here, and I’m writing, I might as well tell you that I’ve been writing for a website called FightMichigan.com. TJ and I have been going to an awful lot of Mixed Martial Arts Cage Fights, and I’ve decided to start writing about it, so that’s consuming a lot of my free time. It’s a good site, and we have a lot of ideas for it. It’s still in its infancy, but we’re hoping for big things in the future. If you’re in Michigan and interested in MMA, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

So, I guess my bananas are done. They’re a little spongy like dried apple, but they taste really really good.

The apples turned out good, and the nectarines turned out great.  The Nectarines dried the fastest, then the apples, then the bananas. The hot peppers are still going. I probably should have pierced the skin or cut them in half. I’ll try that next time.

Hyphen: Used to join words or to separate syllables of a single word when the entire word won’t fit on a single line (most software does this for you). You would also use a hyphen to create a compound noun, verb, or adjective (mother-in-law,eye-opener, awe-inspiring, respectively).

Dashes: The en-dash is called en-dash because it is roughly the width of the letter ‘n.’ It’s used to separate numbers in a range (4–5 pieces), or to describe the relationship between two things (Father–daughter dance, Detroit–Chicago train). There is a keyboard shortcut when using most desktop publishing softwares: hold down ‘control’ and hit the ‘minus’ key. This doesn’t work in WordPress, though.

The em-dash is named because it’s roughly the width of the letter ‘m.’ It’s used to emphasize a parenthetical thought, or an interruption in dialogue instead of using an ellipsis.  Examples:

• Please use my email address—shanhale at gmail dot com—for any correspondence.
• “I never said I wanted you to—,” she yelled into the phone, but he hung up before she could finish.

Em-dash also has a keyboard shortcut: Control + Alt + Minus.

Grammarbook.com has a nice page showing the differences between en-dash and em-dash.

I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, because I want to have enough stuff to fill all the trays. I want to try fruits and vegetables. Dehydrate2Store has some really great videos on YouTube about dehydrating food, and she uses only lemon juice to prevent discoloration and to help prevent spoiling. I like that much better than Sodium bisulfite or some other poisonous-sounding chemical.

I can’t wait to try it out!

1. I’m hungrier

2. My feet hurt

3. Wasting time is harder to do

The hunger could be caused by other factors, but I have definitely noticed an increase in appetite. My feet are killing me, and my knees have been a little sore, but I have an anti-fatigue mat on order, so that should help. On the other hand, my back feels GREAT! As far as wasting time, it’s just a lot harder to stare at the computer and not do something productive. I feel like I’m getting more done as a result. So far, it’s a definite inprovement.